वृक्षायुर्वेद (सुरपाल - प्राचीन भारतीय पादप-विज्ञान, कृषि एवं वृक्ष-चिकित्सा सटीक)

Table 1. continued
Disorder | Cause given | Symptoms | Cause elaborated | Possible causes¹ | Treatment materials
— | Friction with other trees, continuous shade, inhabitation by too many birds, excessive growth of creepers, growth of weeds nearby. | Destruction of trees | na | na | Manuscript is silent; perhaps it is assumed that causes will be eliminated by farmers.

1. The commentator has interpreted the causes in the context of present knowledge base.
2. na = Information not available or inability to interpret.
   recommended by Surapala possess biocidal properties.
   Some plant species were used for other properties such
   as stickiness. I found the use of lotus mud most
   fascinating; i.e., to ensure long residual action of the
   prescribed materials. Modern humans will raise
   eyebrows when they would think of applying milk to
   trees, but we must remember that almost every farmer,
   as in remote villages of South Asia even today, kept cows
   and/or buffaloes. If there was no market for these
   products nearby, the farmer must have had more milk
   than the family needed. Such a surplus could have easily
   been spared for trees. The same case must have been
   true for ghee (clarified butter). I am unable to
   comprehend the use of some materials such as cow horn,
   tiger flesh, elephant milk, and horse hair. Likewise it is
   difficult for me to accept the remedy prescribed in verse
   159 to prevent hail shower (see Table 2).
   • Among the botanicals used, I find one of them,
   vidanga, suggested frequently. We do not seem to know
   much about its biocidal properties. Here is an
   opportunity for our scientists to look at this plant closely
   and critically.
   • Where the scholars of those time failed to offer any
   practical remedy, they seem to have resorted to prayers,
   as we do today. For example, in verses 160–164 we see
   evidence of prayer to ward off damage due to rats, and
   other difficult pests.
   • I found some recommendations enigmatic. For
   example in verse 63, Surapala suggested no planting
   for a year or two after growing sesame or black gram.
   On the other hand, Varahamihira (500 AD) in his
   Brhatsamhita mentioned that when a piece of land was
   brought under a crop, sesame should be planted,
   chopped down, and incorporated into soil before seed
   was produced. I had conjectured, based on reports from
   India and Nigeria, that incorporation of sesame would
   reduce biomass of the obnoxious weed, Cyperus
   rotundus, and also sesame is a good trap crop for Striga.
   Therefore, Varahamihira had good reasons to
   recommend sesame for a new/fallow field.
   83